Hank shares an article from the Charlotte Observer detailing two national clergy groups who are expected to join a lawsuit that claims North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage is a violation of religious freedom. Hank explains that this is ultimately due to a failure to read the Bible for all it’s worth.

Questions and Answers:

Is hell really eternal?

Can women be pastors?

Did Jesus cease to be God in the incarnation? Could you explain your previous comments on this?

Are Arminians and Calvinists united on the essentials of the Christian faith?

Is the ministry Your Campus Revival a cult? What do they believe?

Is it okay to allow Jehovah’s Witnesses into our homes? Would this be equivalent to giving them a platform, or can we show them hospitality?

The church I was originally saved in has since let me down, and I haven’t been able to find a church where I can grow. What should I do?

I am an atheist, and I disagree that morals would not exist without God.

]]>http://www.equip.org/broadcast/clergy-undermine-institution-marriage-qa/feed/0Have We Given Up on the Issue of Abortion?http://www.equip.org/audio/have-we-given-up-on-the-issue-of-abortion/
http://www.equip.org/audio/have-we-given-up-on-the-issue-of-abortion/#commentsWed, 07 Oct 2009 17:42:00 +0000http://simonwebdesign.com/cri/beta/audio/have-we-given-up-on-the-issue-of-abortion/Imagine living in a country in which members of Congress would mandate researchers ‘either destroy embryos or risk imprisonment.’ Imagine a nation that not only permits the killing of the most vulnerable among us but mandates such mayhem for the purposes of research. Imagine no further—the day has arrived. As the former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork has well said, we have began inexorably “slouching toward Gomorrah.”[1]I’ll never forgot the words of George Will, when he said, “we are experiencing the slow motion barbarization of America.”

The founders of our Republic could only in their darkest nightmares have imagined relativism trumping objective moral standards in a free society. The rise of technology and the fall of ethical consensus have brought us to a society full of moral dilemmas. This stark reality was born out in 1973 when Christians quietly passed in a battle in the war against abortion.

The far reaching impact of that abdication is felt in the raging battle over embryonic stem cell research. In the wake of the current moral and ethical tsunami, it is incumbent upon Christians to not only provide relief but bring the rebuilding process. Nothing less than Western Civilization is at stake.

I’ll never forget what Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer said many years ago: abortion would be the watershed issue of our era. “Of all the subjects related to the erosion of the sanctity of human life abortion is the keystone.”[2] Of course, his warning tragically fell on deaf ears.

Consider the statements of some of the leading spiritual and secular leaders of our age. Beverly Harrison, a professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, “Infanticide is not a great wrong. I do not want to be construed as condemning women who under certain circumstances quietly put their infants to death.”[3]Esther Langston, Professor of Social Work at the University of Nevada, “What we are saying is that abortion becomes one of the choices and the person has the right to choose whatever it is that is… best for them in the situation in which they find themselves: be it abortion, keep the baby, adopt the baby, sell the baby, leave the baby in a dumpster, put it on your porch, whatever. It’s the person’s right to choose.”[4] Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who famously remarked “that the most merciful thing a large family can do for one of its infant members is to kill it.”[5]

Where does this slippery slope lead? Think only to the words of James Watson, the Nobel prize winner and the co-discover of the structure of DNA, “Because of the limitations of present detection methods most birth defects are not discovered until birth; however, if a child was not declared alive until three days after birth the doctor would allow the child to die if the parents so chose and save a lot of misery and suffering.”[6]

This is the epoch in which we find ourselves. In view of this reality, we should go back to the words of Scripture. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:13). A song was written with those words in mind. It was haunting, not only to hear the music but to see the images. It was the first pro-life song by Cindee Martin Morgan, who is the daughter of the late Dr. Walter Martin, the founder and former president of CRI. It was recorded by her daughter Sharon at the tender age of seven. We featured that song on the Bible Answer Man broadcast and we lauded the fact that Cindee Martin Morgan and her husband Rick Morgan were vigilant in the battle against abortion.

The reason we did that is because the reality is today there are very few Christians who will put their lives on the line for this issue. Christians have become apathetic. There was a recent Pew Research Poll that found that among all respondents to the poll concern about the abortion issues has dropped. Only 15% of respondents said that abortion was a critical issue.[7] It’s an issue to which we have been anesthetized to. This does not mean that we shouldn’t be involved in the debate or the discussion. It’s a watershed issue of our era; we should be involved.

So Cindee and Rick have continued the battle, recognizing it’s not about whether we win or lose. It’s about being faithful with the platform that God gives us. They have now come out with a new pro-life song called, “Who will Save the Little Ones?” It’s a call to lawful action on behalf of the unborn. You can hear this at our Website (http://www.equip.org/site/savethelittleones). I also did an hour long interview with Cindee and Rick on October 6, 2009; this can be heard also at our Website (http://www.equip.org/broadcasts/who-will-save-the-little-ones-20090610). To visit their Website go to (http://www.MtMoriahMusic.com) Also to equip you in defending the Pro-Life position we recommend the book Whose Ethics? Whose Morals? available at our Website or by calling 1-888-7000-0274.

I would like to alert you to a brand new resource we have here at CRI. It’s a book entitled Whose Ethics? Whose Morals? The Best of the Christian Research Journal. At first blush, reading a book like this might seem to be a little more than an academic exercise. In reality, it is a matter of survival. Imagine living in a country in which members of Congress could mandate researchers to either destroy embryos or risk imprisonment. Imagine a nation that not only permits the killing of the most vulnerable among us but mandates such mayhem for the purposes of research. Imagine no further––that day has arrived. As the former Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork has well said in a book by the same moniker, we have began inexorably “slouching toward Gomorrah.”[1]

Truth is the founders of our Republic could only in their darkest nightmares have imagined relativism trumping objective moral standards in a free society. Maybe the credo of Nazi Germany of “might makes right” is something we should look at again. Ethics and morals were not determined on the basis of an objective standard but on the basis of raw power and blind bigotry. With no enduring reference point, societal norms were quickly reduced to mere matters of preference and power.

As smoke from crematoriums wafted over steeples in the German countryside, another evil reared its ugly head. Pastors and their parishioners remained strangely silent. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, however, was not among them. “If we claim to be Christians,” he said, “there is no room for expediency.”[2] Thus he stood not only against the evils of the Nazi war machine but against the confessional church more concerned with survival than moral and ethical realities on the ground. “When Christ calls a man, “said Bonhoeffer, “He bids him come and die.”[3] On April 9, 1945, just days before liberation, Bonhoeffer experienced the ultimate “cost of discipleship.”

Thankfully, most Christians in the twenty-first century have not had to make a comparable sacrifice for truth. Without the leavening power of a biblical worldview, fascism might well again hold sway. There is a razor thin edge between fascism and freedom. As such, I want you to consider engaging in three essentials.

First, pray. Without God’s blessing we are impotent in the battle to restore a biblical perspective respecting morals and ethics.

Second, share what you have learned on the Bible Answer Man broadcast and through our ministry with your family members and friends. Share this book with some of them also. One of the greatest blights of the twenty-first century is that we seldom engage in meaningful conversations. Instead we have become masters at entertaining ourselves to death.

Finally, stand with a ministry that is making an impact in the battle for truth. Through a variety of ministry outreaches the Christian Research Institute is making a strategic difference while there is yet time. Each year growing numbers of men, women and children around the globe are jettisoning relativism for a relationship with a moral law-giver who has loved them with an everlasting love. Such abundant, abiding fruit is not harvested by accident. Outside the walls of CRI an army of saints stand with us as co-laborers in a one-of-a-kind ministry. If you are ready to join the ranks, give us a call at 1-888-700-0274 or visit our Website at www.equip.org